In Search of the King and Queen of Sljeme – the Snow Queen Trophy

A pageant of skiing awaits us! The Snow Queen Trophy – the Audi FIS World Ski Cup once again brings the crème de la crème of the world of skiing to our fair city and to our very own snowy peak, Sljeme.

On Tuesday 3 January there is the women’s slalom, on Thursday 5 January the men’s! It all started in 2005 when the Croatian Ski Association organised the first slalom competition for women of the World Ski Cup, and Zagreb became an essential destination where the World Cup is held. From 2008 the women’s trophy has been joined by the men’s, and from the first race to today the Snow Queen Trophy has become one of the most popular races of the World Cup.

There are many special things about the Snow Queen Trophy: Zagreb is the only capital city to host a World Cup race, only on Sljeme are the winners given crowns and proclaimed the Snow Queen and the Snow King, and the atmosphere at the event is the toast not only of the best of the world’s top skiers but also the guests. All of that helped the Snow Queen Trophy in 2013 enter the Club 5 Ski Classics, an association of organisers of races in the FIS World Cup, meaning the competition stands side by side with races such as Val Gardena, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Kitzbühel, Wengen, Val d’Isere and others.

The race takes place on the red run. The start is at 985 metres above sea level and the finishing line is at 785 m. An audience of tens of thousands makes this race the most visited women’s race in the World Cup. Because, the Snow Queen is not just top class competitive excitement, it is much, much more: good cheer and fun, the very best of top skiing and Zagreb hospitality.